


In Philadelphia (WIP)

by SarahTollefson2



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Destiel - Freeform, F/M, M/M, Minor Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-10
Updated: 2013-08-10
Packaged: 2017-12-23 01:17:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/920283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahTollefson2/pseuds/SarahTollefson2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Since his longest relationship ended, nothing has been the same for Castiel Novak. He smiles less, works more, and doesn’t have the care to change anything. That is until the day he met the man that all the girls (even some of the boys!) swooned over. His life made a complete 180 flip, and everything seemed to be okay. As they say, an ending is a new beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this one is short. I promise the next ones are longer. ^_^

The loud whistle from the stove snapped Castiel out of his thoughts. His water was boiling, which meant he could brew his favourite tea, apple cinnamon, and get to reading Lukewarm Love for the two hundred and ninety-second time. He kept small tally marks on the blank pages at the end of the novel, one for each time he’d read it. 

It was his favourite.

Not many things in the world had the power to cheer him up, especially on days like today. He didn’t particularly like the rain Lawrence was getting today, but that wasn’t why he was so sad. It wasn’t because his best friend Kevin was moving across the country next week. It wasn’t because his older brothers Michael and Lucifer (their parents liked to name their children after angels) were in the middle of the biggest fight they’ve ever had, and were trying to force him and the fourth Novak sibling, Gabriel, to choose a side. None of this mattered to him today.

Castiel was sad because today, August 19th, marks exactly eight months since he was broken up with. The four years he and Ash were together were the best years of Cas’ life.

**********

Ash made him so happy, he couldn’t even put it to words. The day they met, they were both in the Psychiatric ward in the Austin State Hospital. Though they hit it off almost immediately, the boys didn’t share what their illness was with each other until they were both out. On Castiel’s last day in the ward, Ash (who was released from treatment three weeks before) picked him up in his rusted, Ford mustang from sometime in the ’90s, and took him straight to see his (Castiel’s) family. They were happily in love ever since.

All of that changed in the blink of an eye. Just days before Christmas, Castiel returned home from a double shift at work, a dive-bar you wouldn’t recognize the name of, to see all of Ash’s belongings packed away in boxes, loaded into a small U-Haul in their front yard. 

When Cas went inside, he couldn’t help but notice how open the house seemed, with half of the items missing. He heard Ash call him from the living room. The conversation began with “I’m not good enough for you.” and ended with a heart-shattering “I’m moving back to Baltimore. I need to be as far away as possible.” leaving Castiel with little time to process what had just happened. 

Cas was alone. The greatest thing he ever had in his life was gone. 

***********

He sat in his “reading” chair, which was positioned perfectly so you would never need a reading lamp at any time thanks to the sun and the streetlamps, though he liked to use one anyway. 

Even though he had planned nothing today except reading and drinking tea, he couldn’t focus. The bad thoughts he had for the first month or two after the breakup were slipping back into his brain, and they had been all week. He thought that moving to Kansas would clear his mind and give him a fresh start. For a while it did, but August has been no walk in the part. Maybe it was because Ash’s birthday fell in this month, or maybe it was because he’s never liked the number eight, because sideways, it’s infinite, and in Castiel’s opinion, nothing was really infinite.


	2. Chapter 2

"Finally." Castiel said to himself, as the heavy rain lightened up to nothing. He’d wanted to go for a walk, to clear his mind, but didn’t want to get soaked. Walks always seemed to help. He reached for his bookmark, removed his glasses and grabbed his favourite trench coat. 

Whenever Castiel he tried to think of good things. All the great people he had the opportunity to get to know here in Lawrence. The great people he worked with at The Roadhouse, one of the more popular local bars. The mysterious, attractive, Dean Winchester who frequented the bar, presumably to ogle at the young, pretty blonde bartender, Jo, Ellen’s daughter. The way Ellen, his boss, treated everyone she knew as if they were her own family. The sound Franklin’s paws made as he hopped around the house. 

Franklin was the rabbit Castiel bought just a week into his move, because he needed a friend. Now, he has plenty of friends, but he felt like no one knew him quite as well as Franklin did. 

As much as he tried, he just couldn’t seem to get these thoughts from his mind. He knew he would never be able to let go of the fact that he was hopelessly in love with someone who didn’t feel the same. Someone who he devoted four years of his life to, but hasn’t said a word to in eight months. The memories of the last day he spent with Ash felt like they were enough to make Castiel’s whole world crumble. 

After he turned the lock to his front door, he put on his headphones. Selecting Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love,” the one song that could always make him smile, and he just walked. No real ending point, or desire to go anywhere, not even sure what direction he headed off in. As the sweet melody of his favourite song filled his ears, he remembered how Ash didn’t like it. While he never said he didn’t, Cas knew that’s what he meant by saying “I just don’t get this song.”

**********

Sometimes, to Castiel, time seemed like it was standing still. Hours could pass in a normal fashion, but feel like mere minutes to him. His phone had died, taking the music along with it, so there was no way for him to tell the time, except by the sunset. It was getting dark, quicker than usual, it seemed. He turned around to head home, as a familiar car drove by, unfortunately not missing the puddle by the sidewalk.

"Damn it." Castiel said to himself, just thankful he had his coat on, praying his phone was dry enough to survive, at least.

The car came to a screeching stop, and the creaking hinges of the door cut through the silence that filled the air.

"Oh shit!" A voice cried out. Cas glanced up to see if he recognized the person who was responsible for his now soaking wet clothes, and he did.

Dean Winchester was running towards him, with a sincerely apologetic look on his face.

"Hey man, I’m so sorry." Dean said when he reached Castiel.

"It’s okay. Don’t worry." Cas replied, trying to hide the fact that he was nervous, and blushing. "I was just heading home to make dinner, anyway."

"Dinner? For who, girlfriend? Roommate?" Dean questioned.

"No I-" Cas started, "I live alone. With my rabbit!" He instantly regretted that last part. A grown man having nothing but a pet bunny wasn’t something you heard about very often, especially in Kansas.

"Huh." Dean uttered after a moment, though Cas couldn’t detect any sense of judgement in his tone. "If you have no one waiting for you, why not let me take you out for dinner? I’ll buy, to make up for ruining your clothes."

Reluctantly, Cas nodded, not sure what to think, and they started towards Dean’s car.

"Wait!" Cas half shouted, "isn’t it a little weird to ask someone out without a proper introduction?" Even though he knew full well who Dean was.

Dean stared at him for a moment. “Name’s Dean Winchester.” He finally said, offering his hand to shake.

"I - uh - Castiel N - Novak." Cas replied, taking Dean’s hand. It was warm.

**********

There was an undeniable connection between the two men, though Castiel thought it was all in his head. 

"My house is just up the road." Dean started, still not letting go of the other man’s hand. "Do you want to just wear something of mine so you aren’t soaking while we eat?"

"Okay." Cas answered, after a moment of thought. Dean was slightly taller than him, so he wasn’t sure if anything would fit him.

The two made their way to the car, finally letting go of each other’s hands, and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you sure these will fit?" Castiel started, taking a pair of jeans and a plaid button down from Dean. "I mean, I’m shorter than you, and I—" Dean cut him off.

"The pants a-were my younger brother’s, before he hit his growth spurt.” He said, sitting down on the bed. “The bathroom is down the hall toward the kitchen, second door on the left.”

"Thank you." Cas replied with a smile, closing the dresser drawer that was left open behind him.

As he made his way to the bathroom, Castiel couldn’t help but take time to look at the pictures hanging on the walls. Ones of Dean, at a few different ages, with a different, downright adorable man who he hoped was Dean’s brother. There were a few of who he assumed were Dean’s parents, but no recent-looking photos of the lady Cas thought to be his mom.

"Beautiful family." Cas uttered to himself, as he shut the bathroom door behind him. 

Slipping out of his cold, damp clothes and into something dry and warm was a nice feeling for Castiel. The jeans were a bit loose, but nothing that a belt wouldn’t fix. The button-down however, was big on him. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he noticed how small he looked in that shirt, how small it made him feel. 

A minute or two later, there was a knocking on the door. “Are you okay? Do the clothes fit?” Dean half shouted, as if his voice wasn’t loud enough to carry through the thin wood. 

"The, uh-shirt is too big." Castiel said, opening the door. "I look like a teenage girl borrowing her 6 foot tall boyfriend’s sweater or something. Do you have a t-shirt I could throw under it, maybe?"

"You know, you could just unbutton it like this, show the world what you’re hiding." Dean joked, starting to undo the shirt, revealing Cas’ bare torso. It took him until the very bottom of the shirt to push Dean’s hands away.

"Very funny." He said with a smile. "Maybe I’d do it if were at a beach or something, but not for dinner. Tshirt me."

**********

After they (finally) found a shirt that fit Cas nicely, the two men headed out. Dean never revealed where he was taking him, and Cas didn’t exactly recognize the area. It wasn’t until they pulled up to the WheatFields Bakery and Cafe that Castiel knew where they were. 

"My brother works here when he’s home from school." Dean explained. "They have amazing food, I promise." He continued, noticing the look of confusion on the other man’s face.

"I believe you, but I thought you’d want to go somewhere like The Roadhouse or something similar. That’s all."

"The Roadhouse is great, but it’s not somewhere you go on a date…" Cas flinched as the word rolled off of Dean’s tongue. "…or an "I’m-sorry-I-splashed-you" supper." Dean corrected himself, blushing slightly.

After what felt like the longest minute in the universe, Cas suggested they go inside. They were greeted with the smell of fresh baking, rustic decor and a smiling hostess. 

"Hey, Dean!" She said with an excited voice. Her nametag read ‘Jessica.’ "New friend?"

"Sort of. I splashed him when I drove through a puddle, this is how I’m making it up to him." Dean chuckled. "Is there space in Sammy’s section?"

Jessica read over the seating map, her eyes moving quickly. “Yes!” She exclaimed. “I’ll show you two to your table!”

"Awesome, Jess. You rock." Dean said, while he helped her grab the menus from the almost-too-high shelf. 

"Thank you." Cas chimed in, as they sat at their table. "My name is Castiel, by the way." 

"Pleased to meet you!" Jess replied. "Sam will be over in a second to get y’all started with some drinks!" She finished, before heading back to the greeting area.

Cas glanced around, taking in everything the cafe had to offer. Part of him wanted to look at Dean, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to handle that for very long. The stunning green eyes alone, were enough to make Cas weak in the knees. 

Maybe this was a good thing. He hasn’t been on anything close to a date since last September. Ash didn’t like going out very much, so they spent a lot of time at home, and that was something Castiel hated.

"Dean?" A voice snapped Cas out of his thoughts. "Who’s this?"

"Sammy, this is Castiel. Cas, this is my brother, Sam." Dean was good with introductions. No one had ever called him Cas before, not even his own family.

"Cas, it’s good to meet you. Now let me do my job. Drinks?" Sam asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. 

"The usual, Sam," Dean began. "And hey, grab one for Cas, too." Dean winked at him.

Sam returned with two glasses full of the House beer, and took their order. Dean got his favourite sandwich, ham and roasted pineapple, with a chicken noodle soup, while Cas got the special: grilled sea bass. 

For about three hours, they ate, they talked, they shared stories, and Castiel was able to look Dean in the eye without feeling nervous. He told Dean about his family, and why he and his siblings were all named after angels. Dean told Cas all about his brother and parents, holding back tears when he brought up his mom. 

"Dean, you really don’t have to pay for me." Cas mentioned, as Dean counted out money, making sure he had enough to give Sam a great tip. 

"I’m a man of my word, Cas." Dean said without looking up. I told you I’d buy you dinner, and I am buying you dinner." He smiled, placing the bills and the check under a glass for Sam to pick up.

The two said goodbye to Jess, both receiving hugs from her, went out and climbed into Dean’s car. 

"I don’t know about you, but I could go for some pie." Dean said, AC/DC playing in the background. "I have some at my house. Are you in?"

Cas nodded.


End file.
